Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys are in a bye week, but there are still things we can learn by looking back at the past game. The loss to the Arizona Cardinals was a big stumble by the team. There are some Cowboys’ rookies who are playing important roles this year, let’s check in on how they did in the most recent game.
(Game stats- Snaps: 67, Pass Blocks: 51, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 0, Penalties: 1)
Arizona brought a steady flow of simulated pressure and Booker generally did well. The Cowboys still surrendered five sacks and nine quarterback hits, but most of that stress came in long-yardage stretches when the Cardinals dialed up late stunts. That explains why so many drives felt one snap away from staying on schedule.
It wasn’t perfect from Booker. A couple of third down plays turned into late pressure when Arizona’s loopers arrived and got through, and a few zone runs got spilled by backside chases before Booker could fully set. The PFF snapshot from the game shows Booker was generally sound with a 86.0 grade in pass protection, and 82.0 in run blocking, and that discounts his disruptive penalty on third down that erased the conversion.
(Game stats- Snaps: 51, Total Tackles: 3, Pressures: 5, Sacks: 1, TFL: 1)
Ezeiruaku’s night against Arizona was actually pretty good despite the defense failing so miserably. He threatened the edges early, used his relentless motor to keep Jacoby Brissett on the move. A couple of second-effort wins showed the sequencing he’s been stacking with his speed to power, and those snaps pressured the QB into a couple of hurried throws.
Early in the first quarter on a third-and-medium play, Ezeiruaku lined up outside the tackle in a wide-9 position and treated the snap like he owned it. He sold pure speed off the ball to force depth, then stabbed his inside hand into the tackle’s chest. The moment the tackle over-shifted to protect the corner, Ezeiruaku snapped back underneath with a rip, kept his pads low, and went straight into the backfield. He finished clean and wrapped up Brissett and sat him down in the pocket before the throw.
Arizona leaned on motion and boots, and once or twice Ezeiruaku got too deep and let Brissett climb the pocket. On a cutback he lost his lane discipline, and opened a crease that should’ve died at three yards. A chip from a tight end stole his first step on one key play, and there was a rush where the counter arrived a beat late.
(Game stats- Snaps: 58, Total Tackles: 5, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 0, TFL: 1)
The linebackers are probably the weakest part of the Cowboys roster and it showed up in Arizona. This is a game that James will want back and would love to go back to and change a lot of things. The tape keeps showing the same problems during the game with his vision,...
